Returning Home
by Chimera.Cain
Summary: Cloud Strife returns home after so many years. Yuffie doesn't remember him but he seems to remember her. What happens when he saves her from the Heartless? How will Leon feel about this? Cloud.X.Yuffie.X.Leon -HIATUS-
1. Chapter 1

R E T U R N I N G H O M E

C.l.o.u.d S.t.r.i.f.e

m y h e r o

&

Y.u.f.f.i.e K.i.s.a.r.a.g.i

m y l o v e

* * *

There she was. The Great Ninja had fallen. Through her half opened eyes she could see the heartless coming towards her in a mass abundance. The all blended together in a black liquid dotted with yellow spheres. Was this the end? Was she going to die this way? She sat on her bottom with her legs sprawled out in front of her. A free hand that did not hold her shuriken held her profusely bleeding side. The healer, Aeris, was back at the base probably helping Cid with something. Although she wasn't even sure if a healing spell would work. Sure maybe it would heal her wounds…but it wouldn't make her less tired. How long would she be able to last?

She had stalled long enough. They were coming for her. They were getting closer. Heaving herself up with a heavy pained moan she glared at the heartless in front of her. A prided energy glinted in her eyes. If she was going down she was going to go down in style. "Is that all you got! C'mon! Show me what you got!" Her chapped lips curved into a smirk as threw her shuriken towards the enemy letting it rip through the air. It sliced through the midsections of several heartless before returning to its rightful owner. Unfortunately it was several heartless out of what seemed like an endless number. It would only take a few moments later for the small ninja to get swept away and covered in darkness.

Continuing to fight valiantly she dodged, sidestepped, and moved with the agility of ninja. But it seemed that nothing she could do to avoid the inevitable. A heartless clawed its way on to her back causing her to scream in pain and fall to the floor. The shuriken was jerked out of her hand falling idly out of reach. Her dark indigo brown eyes looked up in worry as saw the heartless coming for her. Closing her eyes and a sharp breath she prepared herself for the inhumane pain she was about to feel.

_"__ Good__ bye __Aeris__. Cid__ Merlin. __Those little three ducks…oh! And those __moogles__ at that always synthesize stuff__…__Those stupid __Gullwing__ Faeries…and and sea-salt ice-cream…yeah I'll miss sea-salt ice-cream. __Good bye __Traverse Town…Radiant Garden__…I know you'll miss my __kick-__ass __ ninja__ skills…__Goodbye Leon…Squall….__"_

She scoffed at her own personal eulogy. She would miss Squall. Leon. Or whatever name he wanted to go by now a days. It was a secret that she had a little crush – was it? – on Squall. Too bad she would never get the chance to tell him…

With her eyes still closed she laid there and waited….and waited…and waited…until she realized that something was wrong or maybe right? There was no inhumane pain and there was no more heartless clawing at her back. As she came to her senses her ears filled with the sound of a clashing sword, like something hitting metal. Her eyes shot open demanding an explanation but not expecting what she saw. Someone was weaving between the heartless, carving out a path towards her. The heartless seemed to be attracted to the stranger more than her and had left her alone.

She was frozen. She wasn't sure if it was because she had just cheated death or it was because of the _sight_ before her. His light green eyes seemed calm in the midst of battle as his unkempt hair clung to the back of his parched neck. He moved with the agility of an assassin, preyed on his opponents like a hunter, and fought with strength of a warrior. Never in her whole life had she seen someone fight like _that_. Never in her whole life had she seen someone like _him_. Who was he? He wasn't from Radiant Garden… It didn't take more than a few moments for the warrior to dispose of all of the heartless.

With a calm walk he stepped towards her letting his sword fall to his side only a few inches away from Yuffie's face. Instantly she jumped to conclusions believing in the worst for her fate. Her eyes now widened and she made a small whimper seeing the blade so close to her face. Laying down on her stomach looking up at the man she felt so helpless. Her body was bruised and broken but at least her mouth wasn't.

"Stop! Stop! Don't kill me! Please! I didn't do anything!" she said pulling her arms over her head. There was she was. The Great Ninja of Radiant Garden. She was weaponless and at the mercy of the Heartless Slayer. Again for the second time she prepared herself for a painful experience…and again the pain never was bestowed upon her. She looked up at him behind her upper arm only to see the blonde warrior walk away.

Scrambling to her feet she left a puddle of blood where she once laid. Running after the namless fighter she stumbled to his side. "Hey! Hey! Where you going?" she asked staring at the side of his face. He did have a nice profile…To her surprise he continued to walk…without acknowledging her! Okay so no one ignores the Great Ninja Yuffie! Well she wasn't exactly so great back there…but that wasn't the point.

Seeing that she was getting annoyed and not getting the information she wanted, and she always got what she wanted, she side stepped in front of him. "You're from….." She stopped in mid-sentence as she made eye contact with the nameless man. From up close his eyes were a deeper shade of green and he didn't seem to have that cold sharp stare that he had in battle. Up close he actually looked somewhat innocent or boyish. His normal expression was soft…not like the one he wore in battle. One she realized that she was staring she quickly finished her sentence. "…around here are you?"

The only response she received was a slight shake of the head before he side-stepped around her and began to go on his way. Wherever that was.

"Well hey! Let me thank you for that back there…" she said putting a hand on his shoulder to keep him from going further. A small gasp came from the girl as she felt the whole palm of her hand become warm and wet. Pulling her hand away quickly she looked down at a bloody hand.

"What..? Wait! You're hurt! You're bleeding! Let me help you!" she yelled flailing her hands up in the air and running after him.

"I doubt I'm the one that needs help," was his response as he was forced to stop again when she jumped in front of him. He let out an annoyed sigh at the ninja. Why was she so persistent? He had worst wounds from battles that were far worse than the small scramble that had just happened a few minutes earlier.

Upon hearing this she lifted an eyebrow as she looked up at the blonde questioningly. She was half shocked and half surprised. Shocked at the fact that he had somewhat insulted her and surprised that he had actually spoken. As always Yuffie addressed the lesser of the matters. "Wait…so you…actually can talk!"

Another annoyed sigh left the swordsman's lips as looked at her dumbfounded. Maybe he should've let the heartless eat her? "Yes now will you let me pass?"

Yuffie's lips curved into a toothed smile as she shook her head. Pointing to his wounded shoulder she placed her other hand on her hips. "Nope. You helped me and it's only fair. Let me take you to my friend Aeris. She'll be able to heal you."

Something flashed in the blonde's eyes but as quickly as it was there it vanished. It wouldn't have been noticeable to the ninja who had only known him for a total of a few moments. "No. I don't need healing or your help," he said in a casual tone as he was prepared for the unnecessary amount of times to step around the ninja…although every time he zagged around her she zagged around him. Everytime he tried to zig she would zig right after him. It didn't take him long to realize that he wasn't going to get out of this until she got what she wanted.

"What? You're pretty scared of me huh?" she asked looking up at him with a playful gaze.

His expression didn't change as he just looked down at the girl. She, after all, only came up to his chin. "Petrfied…" he replied.

His answer didn't humor her one bit when she he playful expression disappeared and was replaced by a glare. "Hey! Fine…but you know you're going to bleed to dea…." Suddenly Yuffie felt strangely light headed as her vision began to blur. Her body felt weaker than it did when the heartless were attacking her. When her legs couldn't hold her any longer she collapsed ready to hit the floor…but she never did.

The unconscious ninja fell in to the arms of her blonde savior. The swordsman looked down at the raven haired ninja unsure of what to do. It was a reflex to reach out and catch her before her head slammed down on the ground…but he didn't expect her to pass out in his arms. There was an obvious confusion and discomfort in his expression as he held the young girl awkwardly close to his torso for support. He felt a warm liquid seep through his clothes and instantly knew that it was blood, but it wasn't his. It was hers. It seemed that she was so wrapped up in helping him that she wasn't paying attention to her own wounds.

He couldn't have just as well left the girl there. Maybe if she wasn't in danger of bleeding to death he would've left her there for her friends to find her. And of course he knew that they would find her. It wasn't like Leon or Aeris to leave a solider behind. Shifting his weight he pulled her up into his arms and carried her bridal style. He grunted slightly feeling a slight pain in his shoulder where his wound was. It wasn't that she was heavy…no she was actually surprisingly light. Looking down at her he studied her bruised and cut up body. She had grown since the last time he'd seen her…

If he remembered it right Merlin's house wasn't far from where he was…and that was usually where everyone resided. He began to walk towards the Wizard's house with her in his arms. What a sight this would be: Cloud Strife returning to Hallow Bastion with Yuffie Kisaragi in his arms.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts 


	2. Chapter 2

R E T U R N I N G H O M E

Cloud Strife

i'll see you in my dreams

&

Yuffie Kisaragi

i'll see you in my thoughts

* * *

"Wow…" The gummi pilot also known as Cid Highwind had a shocked expression on his face. That was before he let out a mouth full of swears at the blonde questioning where he'd been for so long. For a while Cid was the only one who had opened his mouth and began to speak for the others were all to shocked to say anything. They were shocked for a number of reasons. One, the great Cloud Strife had returned, and two, he was holding an unconscious _and_ bleeding Yuffie Kisaragi in his arms. It didn't take long for Aeris to rush forward to her younger female friend asking what happened. Her green eyes looked over Yuffie's cut and bruised body with worry before turning back to Cloud.

"Where…what happened?" she asked stroking one of the girl's arms. Even though the flower girl knew she was unconscious she couldn't help her maternal instinct to watch over the girl. She looked up at the warrior's mako eyes that were just as cold and hard as she remembered them to be. It caused her to look away, and almost thankfully Leon entered the picture.

"So what happened again?" Leon asked in his usual husky voice although there seemed to be some hostility hidden behind it. He walked up besides Aeris and observed the SOILDER. He looked the same more or less although there was something different about him. It wasn't exactly a physical change but it was a change that you could see. It looked like he had been through hell and back again. Looking at him you could tell that he had been through a lot of ups and downs since the last time they had seen each other. He wasn't the young boy that they remembered from his childhood….and neither was he.

"I found her," was Cloud's simple answer. He knew that Leon would probably want more information but Cloud was never one to talk very much. He was also never one to go out of his way or habit to please anyone else…even when he was pint size.

After quirking an eyebrow Leon nodded knowing better than to scrutinize the man. Looking down at the sleeping Yuffie ruffled his hair on the nape of his neck.

"Um…Thanks. Do you want me to carry her from here?" he asked holding out an arm ready for Cloud to transfer the girl into his arms. He certainly didn't expect for the blonde to shake his head and to continue cradling Yuffie. Cloud looked at Leon blankly with his blood red cloak covering half of his face. It was hard to read what his emotions were even without half of his face covered…but it seemed…could it be that he actually cared for young girl?

"Um…okay well you can just settle her down in her room…" Aeris quickly said before anything else could be spoken. "Follow me Cloud."

The blonde walked passed the brunette not making eye contact with him. Although it wasn't because he was scared it was because he was apathetic. That was Cloud. Always cold and never caring towards anyone.

Aeris turned on her heels leading the way to Yuffie's door. There was a large sign written with black paint reading 'Yuffie's room DO NOT ENTER' taped on the wood. Opening the door the pink clad girl stepped inside motioning towards the bed.

"Just set her down here and I'll take care of the rest…"

Cloud didn't give her as much as a nod when he stepped passed her and gently laid Yuffie on to her bed. After she was secured he didn't even bat an eyelash when he turned around to make for the door leaving a very confused Aeris. Was he going to leave again?

"Cloud...where are you going? Are you going to leave again?" she asked with an almost desperation in her voice. It had been a long time since she had seen him and there were so many things she wanted to tell him.

Looking over his shoulder he looked at the green eyed girl. He could easily tell that there was emotional distress in her eyes. He decided to give her some sort of hope or closure. "No…not right now anyway." With that he went on his way as his cape followed behind him with each step.

* * *

Heartless. 

They were everywhere.

They were tearing into the houses being drawn to the people inside. They were attracted to the living the ones who still kept their hearts. That's that they were after. They were heartless and they wanted hearts. They never expected it to happen to them, they never expected that something like this could happen. They were so unprepared and it wasn't long until Radiant Garden would fall.

A young girl about the age of five was running as fast as her little legs could carry her. Everyone around her either didn't see her or choose to ignore her for everyone was running past her. She just couldn't keep up. Was she going to be left behind? There were tears streaming down her cheeks as she fought so hard to run faster but not matter how much she tried she seemed to be falling behind.

She wished so much to be where her friends were now. He parents had died long ago before she could even remember. Her friends were the only things she remembered. They were more than her friends they were her family. But they were nowhere to be found at the current moment. Squall. Aeris. Cid…and…

Suddenly the young raven haired girl found herself tripping and colliding with the ground hard. A loud snapping sound was heard followed by a blood wrenching scream. Tears began to fall harder and hotter form her eyes as she assumed the fetal position trying to clutch her leg. She could hear the screams in the distance and the footsteps of the people who passed her leaving her to die. There she was. At five years old Yuffie Kisaragi believed that she would die. She heard the heartless coming. They screeched a inhumane noise that would forever haunt her in her dreams.

Her brown almond eyes opened staring death in the face. Fear gripped her as she saw the single shadow heartless coming for her as the houses began to burn around her. It was only one…but she was defenseless and still afraid. Her vision was blurry with her tears or maybe it was just that she was loosing consciousness. Either way she didn't care. Her leg was numb. She could no longer feel it and her voice was too hoarse to cry out anymore.

There it was …coming closer when through her blurred vision she saw a metal blade fall down on the heartless in front of her. And then there was a boy…who seemed to small to carry such a heavy sword but somehow he seemed to manage it just fine. She didn't see his face only his knees when he bent down and scooped her up in his arms. Her eyes instantly closed hoping to cease the dizziness.

"Yuffie!? Are you okay?" the boy asked with clear distress in his voice. His question was quickly followed by a loud crash almost causing him to drop the girl. He kept his hold on her as he looked over her shoulder at more heartless coming their way. Letting out a furious growl he turned back around.

In his arms she could feel that whoever was holding her broke out into a run. The sounds around her began to jumble into one record. Everything was starting to blend together. The past with the future. Her dreams and her reality….

"Don't worry"

_'What?'_

"I'll keep you safe"

_'Who are you?'_

"….I'll protect you…."

_'I'm dreaming?'_

"I promise…"

_"Aren't I?"_

Yuffie eyes rapidly opened as she shot herself up letting out a troubled gasp. She was drenched in a cold sweat and her breathing was hurried. Where was she? What had happened? Looking around in a panicked motion it took her a few moments to realize where she was – her room. Her breathing began to steady itself as she buried her face in the palm of her hands.

Looking out the window she saw the starry night enter her room through moon beams. It was obvious that it was night time. She must've slept through the whole day.

That still didn't answer her second question. What had happened?

As if she had just been bitten her eyes widened as she reached for her side. Healed. Although she was still bruised she wasn't bleeding anymore. Aeris must have healed her while she was asleep.

The last she remembered was being attacked by heartless. Or…was that the dream? No that really happened. There was a boy…no a man who had assisted her. What else did she remember?

Those Mako eyes.

"GAWD…." Yuffie fell back sinking into her bed with a slight smile on her face. She remembered now. She remembered how his golden bangs feel in front of his eyes when he looked at her. The way his cape slightly covered his emotionless face. Even though he seemed introverted there was something about him that was so intriguing. He was like some force pulling her in. Who was he? What was his name? She had never seen him before in Hallow Bastion. He didn't even tell her his name…

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts **

**Thank you to those who reviewed last chapter! ****Hope you guys like this chapter!   
**


	3. Chapter 3

R E T U R N I N G H O M E

Cloud Strife

i remember you

&

Yuffie Kisaragi

will you remember me?

* * *

Fully rested and healed Yuffie was back to her normal energetic self once more. It was just like any other normal day. Ever since the Sora had defeated the Heartless Hallow Bastion was slowly returning to what it used to be. Even with the worlds sealed off there were still some Heartless wandering around. Despite that the shops were opening and children flocked to the sea-salt ice-cream stand daily. Yuffie went on with her normal except…today she was on a mission. Find the Yellow Chocobo Warrior. 

_"Hey everyone!__ What's going on?"_

_"…"_

_"__Soooo__ everyone seems a lot __more quieter__ than usual. Is this about yesterday? OH GAWD you know that was an accident!" _

_Aeris__ smiled reassuringly at the young ninja. "No it's not that. It's just…" She stopped mid way as if she was going to say something more but started on something else. "So you better __thank__ Cloud for yesterday."_

_"Cloud?"_

_"Yeah.__Cloud.__ You know __ridiculous __blonde hair. __Green eyes.__Large sword.__The guy who carried you in yesterday?"_

_"…" __Yuffie__ just stood there looking at __Aeris__ dubiously. _

_"You mean you don't remember him??"_

He was about the age of ten when the heartless attacked. Hallow Bastion still had the same atmosphere it did almost thirteen years ago. Making his way past the bailey and finally finding himself in the Dark Depths looking at the Castle before him. It was a noticeable difference from the structure it was. It used to stand so tall and proud…but now it just stood there holding the memories of the earlier generations such as him. His mako eyes closed and he let out a heavy sigh. There were definely a lot of memories here. Good and bad.

For one thing the Dark Depths was completely deserted and empty. He didn't have to worry about anyone's nagging questions or curious stares. No one dared to come here and even the ones that did barely got passed the Bailey. Heartless roamed freely around here and there were rumors of _him_ being here. They said that he carried a masmuse and had long silver hair running all the way down his back. Cloud almost scoffed at the thought. He had been looking for _him_ for a long time and had given up when he had learned that he had vanished into the darkness. Despite all the rumors it was peaceful here for the blonde SOILDER.

With his eyes still closed he felt the wind brush his bangs away. He had wasted more than half his life looking for revenge on Sephiroth only to find out that he had succumb into darkness. He would never get his revenge for what he did to his home World. It took him a while for him to accept it and come back home. Yes, it was time for him to come home...

Inhaling deeply he let out another long sigh. At least up here he could be alone. It was nice up here. Quiet. Peaceful.

**"RAAAAWR!!****"**

_'What the __**fuck**__ was that?'_

Cloud's eyes instantly opened although he didn't have time to turn around when he felt an extra weight on his back push him face first into the dirt ground.

What. Just. Happened?

He laid their dumbfounded for a moment blinking his eyes several times. His cheek had made contact with the floor and his brow had a nice small cut to prove it. He found himself lying on his stomach, looking to the side, with his arms sprawled out on either side of him. It took him several moments to realize that someone was straddling his back. Even though the person weighted fairly light…no body tackled him let alone –touched- him.

"Ha! Found Y-wahhh!!!!"

In a split second Cloud flipped over using a muscled arm to wrap around the person's waist. Not bothering to see who it was he slammed them on the ground turning them over so they were looking at him. Vaulting a leg over the eliminating any chance of escape he found his sword and had a very sharp blade at the edge of….

"Yuffie?"

His usually hallow voice now had a tint of emotion albeit that emotion was confusion. Cloud furrowed his brow looking at the wide eyed girl beneath him. What had just happened? The blonde SOILDER had just been tackled down by the young ninja and he was now on top of her with his buster sword dangerously close to her flesh.

Yuffie said nothing as she looked up at Cloud with large eyes and her mouth slightly agape. She was half ridden with fear, shock, and anger. She looked helpless under Cloud's control. If he wanted he could slice her head off right then and there. Thankfully for her sake he didn't.

Getting off of her he sheathed his sword and crossed his arms still, his mako eyes observing her curiously. The ninja laid there staring at the sky for several minutes, not even moving one muscle. She seemed to be thinking of something very intently and ignore Cloud's presence.

"Yuffie. What are you doing?" he asked stressing the word 'are'.

As if she was some sort of undead zombie she sat herself up and glared at him. This caused him to raise a yellow eye brown.

"I was looking for you," she replied with every word dripping with venom. Obviously she had some hard feelings towards him for holding a sword to her throat.

He didn't respond but just stared at her as if his words had no effect on her. His silence caused her to jump up and shove and accusing finger in his chest.

"Well aren't you even going to pretend to be sorry? Or apologize!? You held that stupid huge sword to my throat! You could've sliced my head off! One wrong move and that would be the end of Yuffie Kisaragi…how tragic. Do you want to be responsible for my death? Is that what you want!!?!!?"

Now with the raven haired girl in his face Cloud's gaze faltered for a moment before looking back into her almond eyes. When he didn't say anything she placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head towards the side.

"You are such a spikey-headed jerk!!" she said failing her arms up in the air and turning around to look at the scenery.

Cloud let a few seconds pass to soak in her insult. It wasn't that he hadn't been insulted before, it was her choice of words. They were…unique. He then opened his mouth for the second time.

"Sorry."

His voice was deep and sent chills down her spine. She wasn't sure if his apologize was for being a moron or for almost chopping her head off. Nonetheless it was an apology. It was good enough for her. She quickly turned around smiling slightly at him.

Her smile seemed to make him uncomfortable because he started to shift weight uneasily. She didn't say anything…just stared and smiled. What was wrong with her?

"… ... … what?" he finally said breaking the silence.

"What what?" she chirped back.

"_What_?" he asked obviously confused by her contemporary answer. This caused her to smile again letting out a few giggles.

_'Christ does __she__ smile a lot…"_ he thought to himself looking over to the side.

"Hey…so I just wanted to thank you for that whole carrying me saving me thing yesterday… … …" She paused for a moment letting one hand from her hip drop idly to her side. "Thanks Cloud!" she said.

There she went…smiling again. Smiling at _him_. What the god-awful reason did she have that made her smile so much? It was like --- wait…she had said his name? Did she remember him? His eyes flashed as he looked at her trying to figure her out. She couldn't have. One of the others must've filled her in. With a curt nod of acknowledgement he turned and began to walk away.

"Hey! Hey! Wait! Where are you going Cloudy?" she questioned jumping towards him and then beginning to circle him. He winced slightly at the nickname.

His eyes followed her in a semi-circle but he didn't bother to continue looking at her when she jumped behind him and out of sight. He bit his tongue from saying something rude such as 'Anywhere…away from here and your god-forsaken hyperactivness.'

When he didn't answer she jumped to a stop in front of him. Even at her full height she came up to his chin and had to tilt her head to look at him.

"So…?" she eyed him questioningly.

"…So…I'll see you later…" she said putting a hand on her shoulder as if to anchor her movement as he stepped around her.

"Really?" Her eyes lit up seemingly pleased at his answer.

"Okay! So I'll see you later Cloudy!" she yelled out to him waving an arm up in the air.

He winced once more and turned to look at the ninja. "Cloud…" he said relaying his name and his only name to her.

"Cloudness?" she asked looking at him innocently.

Silence.

"Clouwy?"

"Spikey-headed jerk?"

He looked at her…and she was smiling…again! Even he saw her smile several times it seemed each smile she had was different. This smile looked like an innocent puppy smile begging him to give in. He let out an annoyed sigh as he finally surrendered.

"Fine," he said stepping forward trying to get away from whatever he was sucked into.

"Really? Spikey-headed jerk??!!" She was actually surprised that he would allow her to call him that.

"No…" he replied not wanting to relay _any_ of the nicknames she had called him before. "The first one…"

"Cloudy!" she said jumping up gleefully. He just rolled his eyes and turned to be on his way…wherever that was and leaving her to do…whatever she did.

There was no way that she could've remembered him. If she did she would remember that when they were little she was the only one he allowed to call him by any other name. She was the only one he would allow to call him 'Cloudy.'

* * *

**Disclaimer - I do not own Kingdom Hearts**

**I hope you guys like this chapter. I know it's starting out kind of slow...but I promise more Yuffie X CloudY interaction in the future chapters! If there any other characters or suggestions that you guys have please let me know! It's leaning towards a Clouffie -- but you all know that Leon is still there!! **

**Thank you everyone who reviewed on the last chapters. I really appreciate it and I hope that you like the story thus far. **


	4. Chapter 4

R E T U R N I N G H O M E

Squall Leonheart

my knight

&

Yuffie Kisaragi

my princess

* * *

_Note: This whole chapter is set in the past/flashback _

"Squawwl!"

A ten year old Squall Leonheart quirked an eyebrow hearing his name being called. He turned his head slightly causing his long brown bangs to cover the scar upon his brow. Crossing his arms across his chest his eyes darted around to find the owner of the voice who had called him. He already knew who it was the question was where was she?

"Squawwwl! The second time he heard Yuffie call out to him he got a fix on her location. It was hard to catch on to her because she was so small… of course she was only five years old. Letting out a sigh he began to formulate an excuse of escape in his mind. Or actually…he could just walk away. It wouldn't be the first time he had done so. He was about to do so but didn't when he saw her face. Her eyes were puffy and red as well as her cheeks. It wasn't any secret that she had been crying.

He looked down at her questioningly uncrossing his arms. What was he suppose to do now? He was never good with kids…let a long crying kids…let along Yuffie. Although thankfully for him the young girl didn't' even give the older boy a chance to reply when she threw her arms around his waist and buried her face into stomach.

Leon's grey eyes instantly widened as he looked down at the young girl clinging onto his waist. His arms were outstretched as if he was scared to touch her and his mouth was slightly agape. It took him a moment to realize that she was shaking and that she continued to cry once more. He sighed letting a hand drop awkwardly on his shoulder followed by the other one embracing her into a Squall-esque hug.

His thought before he spoke trying to what Aeris said when Yuffie would come to crying to her. Yuffie was like the baby of their entire circle of friends. She was the youngest and was usually over protected by the flower girl. In return Yuffie would choose a new victim each day and cling to them like a leech until her bed-time. Oddly enough she had been following Cloud for the past few days now. Luckily for Leon she had only picked him once or twice to follow, claiming that he was too 'boring'.

"Yuffie…are you-"

Suddenly her head whipped up to look at Leon. Her lip was trembling and there were tears brimming at her eyes. "I was running and then the –hic- at the Baily and then Cloudy he said and –hic- and he said never to -hic- talk to him agaaaain!" After her outburst she buried her face once more letting out muffled cries.

A small gasp escaped his lips as he felt the little girls arms wrap tighter around his waist. His grey eyes looked around as if he was looking for some sort of escape but really he just didn't know what to do. He let out an annoyed grunt as he shifted his weight.

_'Damn Cloud…'_He began to grind his teeth out of frustration. He was always just thinking of himself and never thinking of anyone else's feelings. It didn't matter what Cloud would say to him but Yuffie was only a kid. Did he realize that? Letting out another sigh he looked down at the crying ninja. Stroking her hair gently he held her close with his other arm.

He wondered where Aeris was…she was really much better at these things than he was. His eyes grey eyes widened once more as he felt her small hands grip and tug on to his shirt while he felt the front getting soaked with tears. For several moments he just stood there watching her as she cried and waiting patiently until she calmed down.

"Nuowonwantstoplaywithame!"

Squall furrowed his brow as he tilted his head. "What did you say?" he asked her.

Suddenly as if possessed by some supernatural force she jumped back and flung her hands up into the air screaming at the top of her lungs. "NUWONWANTSTOPLAYWITHAME!!!!!"

Her sudden outburst caused Squall to slightly wince. He stood there for a moment trying to decipher what she had just said. Of course he had no luck. Nonetheless he knelt down on one knee and held out a hand beckoning Yuffie to come back over to him. She slowly obliged as she shuffled over hanging her head down, sniffling, and rubbing at her eyes. Yuffie placed her small hand in his and let him pull her in.

When he finally saw that she was calm enough to give a decent answer he finally opened his mouth. "So…tell me again what's bothering you?" he asked still holding her hand.

"No one will play with me…" she said softly looking down at the floor. It was true. It seemed that every time she tried to hang out with the 'older' kids they would have better things to do. Aeris never seemed to be bothered by Yuffie's presence but she always wanted to do…girly things such as dress up.

The gunblader looked at the ninja for lingering moment before he considered what he was about to get into. He could be a complete jerk and brush if off telling her to go find Aeris. That would be the easy thing to do. That would be what he wanted to do. Then why couldn't he do it? Raising a hand up to his head he closed his eyes and braced himself for what he was about to say.

"I'll… … … play with you…" he said letting his hand drop to his side.

As if on cue her crying suddenly stopped and she looked with large eyes. He stared back at her giving out no indication that he was joking. Suddenly her lips curved upward until her mouth turned into a fully fledged Yuffie-sized grin.

"R…really??!"

Her only response was a slight nod from Squall.

The young girl jumped up and down for joy while still latching on to Squall's arm. He watched her as she danced around him happily. Each time she danced behind him he would have to turn around due to the fact he was still holding her hand.

"Squallie! Sqaullie!" She began to tug lightly on his arm to get his attention.

Ignoring the new nickname she had given him he shot her a questioning look. She appeared to be waiting for him to say something.

"Um…yeah?" he asked somewhat uncomfortable by her penetrating stare.

"Whatcha wanna play?" she asked swinging his arm back and forth much to his dismay. Was this what Cloud went through each time Yuffie followed him around?

"Whatever…"

"…"

"I don't know how to play that…"

"No. I mean whatever you want to play," he responded resisting the urge to turn away and roll his eyes.

A fist full of giggles came from the young ninja as she thought of what she wanted to play. It took several moments but as soon as Squall saw her eyes light up he knew that she had already decided what she wanted to do. If that wasn't a dead giveaway she looked up at him with the same look before – as if she waited for him to say something.

"Yes?" he asked raising another eyebrow.

"I wanna play Princess!" she squealed jumping up and down hugging Leon's arm.

_'__Oh.God.No__.'_

Anything but that. He was **not**going to play 'Princess' and dress up. If that was the case then Aeris was definely right for this one job. The idea of dressing up in a tiara and anything remotely resembling a dress made him shudder uncontrollably. Not to mention he would never hear the end of it.

"Uh…Yuffie…I don't think—don't you want to play a different game?" he asked almost pleadingly.

When she heard this she instantly tugged her hand back and crossed her arms over her chest. "NO! I wanna play Princess! You said that we were gonna play whatever I wanted to play! Now I get to play the ninja Princess and you're my Knight! You said! You said so!!" she yelled crossing her arms in front of her.

A great weight lifted off his chest as she elaborated on the game she wanted to play. After a sigh of relief he crossed his arms and tilted his head as he looked her. "Alright fine."

Jumping up and down once more she wore another one of her Yuffie sized smiles. Finding his hand she pulled it on it until his arms uncrossed and she was hugging tightly onto his forearm.

"Let's go get your gunblade!"

"W..what?" she asked looking down at his side where she stood.

"Besides a Princess ever Knight needs their Princess!"

"…"

"Pleaaaaaase?" She began to look up at him with puppy dog eyes. She had the same look that she had when she was about to cry.

_'__Dammit__…'_

"Fine…let's go…" he said leading her away.

"Wait wait!!"

Leon stopped when he felt her tug on his arm once more. Honestly by the end of the day he wouldn't be surprised if his arm would be covered in bruises or a bright shade of red. "What is it?" he asked her.

"Every Princess needs a pony!!" she said eyeing him excitedly.

He knew that look. The look that she was up to something. He had seen it before when he had caught her running out of his room the day all his Greiver necklace was missing. It was a look that he had hoped to never see again.

"…Yuffie…" he began calmly in a tone as if he was trying to explain something. "…and exactly where are we supposed to find…a pony…" He blinked as the word 'pony' escaped his mouth. He never thought he would be saying such things.

"Easy! You get to pretend to be the pony! But only when you're not busy playing the knight kay?" she asked playfully swinging his arm once more.

He couldn't believe it. Now not only did he have to play with Yuffie. No. He also had to play a Knight…which he had to admit wasn't as bad as a Princess…but now he had to play a pony too? An annoyed grunt left his lips as he gave into her puppy dog stares. He was going to kill Cloud for whatever he did that caused this whole fiasco.

"Fine.." he said preparing to be on his way…although another pull at his arm stopped him once again. Looking back saw her standing her ground without any intention to move. "…what?"

She said nothing…just stood there with her arms outstretched and bouncing on her tippy toes. It took him a moment to come to terms with what she wanted: a hug. Clearing his throat awkwardly he slowly bent down until he was at her eye level. She was smiling…as usual with her arms still outstretched. But then something unexpected happened. It was something that the young ninja wouldn't be able to judge as 'out of character' for the older boy. A corner of his lips curved up ever so slightly into a small smile before her wrapped his arms around her.

After a short heartfelt embrace he scooped her up into his arms and began to carry her towards their destination.

"You're a good pony…" She giggled and smiled as she hugged on to his chest tightly.

"…Can you play the dragon too?"

* * *

** Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts**

**Thank you for all who reviewed last chapter! Yeah...so this is suppose to be a Leon X Yuffie X Cloud and i thought that I would put a little Squiffie in there due to Vampyric Ninja request. It's in the past...but I'll have more Squiffie in the future! Thank you again for all of you who reviewed! I hope you liked this chapter! If you have any requests for future chapters please let me know! Oh and I'm on the fence about making this a Squiffie or a Clouffie so please let me know what you think! **


	5. Chapter 5

R E T U R N I N G H O M E

Cloud Strife

salty

&

Yuffie Kisaragi

sweet

* * *

_'Click Click __Click__'_

It was an incessant sound that just didn't seem to have any intentions of stopping.

_'Click Click __Click__'_

There it went again. Or more likely there she went again. The source of the continuous clicking sound was a simple black inked pen. Although the pen wasn't to blame…the real culprit was her. Yuffie. Who just didn't seem to have any idea how annoying that sound could be.

_**'Click Click **__**Click**__**!"**_

"Yuffie! Will you please cut that out!?" a very annoyed Leonheart chided. Although he wasn't looking at the Ninja he was very aware of the non-stop noise she produced. Instead he had a gloved hand raised up to his forehead as if his deep thoughts were interrupted. In front of him was a laptop computer he was working on that connected to the Hallow Bastion's security system.

"Awww sorry Squaleon! I just… got nothing else to do!" she replied with a Cheshire cat grin of innocent. But Leon knew better than to trust her innocent looks and words. And while smiling like a little child at the older male Yuffie continued to click on.

"Yuffie. It's Squall or Leon. Pick one. But do not call me Squaleon," he said in his commander like voice.

"Really? You mean I can call you Squall?!" So Squall had finally given in and had ditched the name Leon much to Yuffie's pleasure. "So Squall," she said letting the name roll off her tongue. "Wha-"

"Leon," he immediately cut in still looking at the computer in front of him.

"But you said-?"

"I lied," was his simple answer as the continued to type on the keyboard.

Yuffie narrowed her eyes at him although he wasn't looking. She knew a way that she could get back at him.

'Click Click Click'

"Yuffie!" Leon scolded this time giving the younger girl a glare.

She had seen Leon mad at her before and this would just be another one of those times however for some reason she got up. Nodding and giving him another smile she twirled around and faced the door. "Aww you're slipping Squall. You're no fun anymore!" she said sarcastically as she skipped towards the door before he had any chance to correct her on his 'name'.

* * *

"Would you like some Ice-Cream?"

Cloud furrowed his brow slightly trying to pinpoint who was talking to him. He did a 360 degree turn and couldn't find the owner of the voice.

"I said, 'Would you like some Ice-Cream?'" the voice said once more.

Dropping his head he finally found the one who was addressing him. "Oh…" was all he said as he looked down to see a duck less than half his size holding up an ice-cream bar to him.

He looked like a little kid who had never seen an ice-cream bar in his life and wondered what in the world he was suppose to do with it. His blue eyes looked at it questioningly before taking it in his gloved hand. It wasn't that he hadn't had ice-cream before…it was that it was the color. And the color was green. He had heard about this small ice-cream parlor whose owner seemed to be experimenting with different flavors and forced his concoctions onto innocent bystanders. Unfortunately Cloud seemed to be one of them.

"Uh…Thanks…" he said walking away before the duck had any chance of giving him another one.

He continued to walk through Radiant Garden, very aware of all the towns people around him. Some were whispering while others just plain stared. He hated being down in the Town…there were just too many people. And those 'too many people' seemed to always want to talk to him asking him about his adventures and where the hell he had been the past few years. Finally making into an alleyway he began to relax slightly.

When he saw that there were no people he began on his ice-cream which seemed to reflect the same color of his eyes. Giving it a taste test first he tried out the flavor. Salty & Sweet. It wasn't half as bad as he thought it was going to be. Letting himself relax a little more he leaned against the wall with his ice-cream at hand. He let his eyes fall to the floor looking at the details of the concrete and stone. It wasn't very exciting but Cloud was never a social butterfly. He was more awkward if anything in any social situations.

There was especially one person he didn't want to see. Or more specifically one girl. Yuffie. After he had carried her to Merlin's it seemed that she was everywhere. As if she was lurking around each corner ready to go 'rawr!' and tackle him once more. Not that he would mind…

Cloud blinked at his random thought and shook his head confused. Yuffie didn't even _remember_ him, although he couldn't blame her. She was very young since the last time he saw her. How old was she? Around the age of five?

_'Click Click __Click__'_

_'What the hell?'_ He quirked an eye-brow and looked up only to have black raven tresses obscure his vision. Almost dropping his ice-cream he tried to back up but realized he was up against a wall. So backing away as far as he could he looked down to see a familiar ninja face uncomfortably close to his.

"Hiya Cloud! Whatcha doing?" she asked tilting her head and looking up at him with her almond shaped eyes.

Her intent gaze caused him to shift his weight uneasily, but she didn't seem to notice. After all Yuffie was never a very observant one. He looked back and forth and up and down. Anywhere but _her_. Her stare made him feel uneasy. He didn't really know what he was really supposed to do to fix the situation. He didn't like being this close to people and Yuffie didn't' seem to understand that.

_'Click Click __Click__'_

Glancing down at her hand he saw a small inked pen clutched in her grasp. Her close proximity and the 'click' noise didn't exactly make him feel more comfortable.

"Um…I'm…" he began thinking of what to say. After all he wasn't doing anything very exciting at the moment.

"Oooo!!! Ice-cream!!!" she squealed completely dismissing, or possibly forgetting, whatever he was going to say. Without question or permission she snatched the flavored ice-bar out of the blonde's hands, claiming it as her own. "Sea-Salt?! That's my favorite!!!" Smiling happily

"That's my ice-cream…" he said in his regular deep masculine tone, although he surprised himself at his own words. Since when did Cloud Strife complain about ice-cream? And even _if_ Cloud Strife had ice-cream, in what world would he let someone steal it…let alone a girl?

Yuffie looked up at him with a shrug of her shoulders. "C'mon Cloud! Didn't anyone ever teach you how to share!?" she asked continuing to devour the more than half gone ice-cream bar.

_'Click Click __Click__'_

He groaned as he closed his eyes leaning back against the wall. It wasn't like he was going to fight about a stupid ice-cream bar. Let alone with Yuffie. So he had lost his ice-cream. It wasn't a big deal right?

_'Click Click __Click__'_

_**'Click Click **__**Click**__**'**_

Suddenly as if he had gone mad he grabbed the ninja's wrist just enough to gain control but not enough to hurt her. He snatched the stupid inked pen just as she had snatched his ice-cream and chucked it as far as possible. After the pen was long gone and out of sight he retreated to leaning back on the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He was glancing down as if nothing had just happened.

Although Yuffie's reaction was a little bit different. Her mouth was still open from shock and she was still staring in the direction that her beloved pen flew. When the shock had worn off she whipped her head at neck breaking speed and glared at Cloud.

"What was that for!" she said placing her hands on her hips and tossing the popsicle stick over her shoulder.

"It was annoying," he replied simply with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Then why didn't you just tell me to stop!?!?" she asked flailing her arms over her head.

He paused for a moment looking at her exuberant display. They looked like polar opposites. Yuffie was always on the move and Cloud just simply wasn't moving.

He shrugged at her adding much to her frustration. "Are you just gonna stand there with your arms crossed and not say anything?" she asked dumbfounded.

He nodded and hummed a small 'hn' before he continued looking down at the ground. He seemed to be doing this to her a lot lately. What was his problem anyway? He always seemed to leave Yuffie with an animated shocked expression.

"So you're just gonna sulk on this wall with your arm crossed with your occasional 'hn' and shrug of the shoulders and not talk at all?!" she asked as if she was expecting him to go find and rescue her black inked pen.

"...No?" he said looking at her as if it was obvious. He _would_ sulk around with his arms crossed and the occasional 'hn' and shrug of the shoulders…but he also – apparently would say the word 'no' to her.

Yuffie growled at his smart comment. Her growl grew even louder when she saw he was walking away. "You're worst than Squall! At least he warned me about the clicking!" she yelled expecting a reaction from him…but got none.

The boisterous ninja wasn't one to be ignored. She wasn't used to it. She was used to commanding attention good or bad wherever she was usually because she was too loud to be missed. "Fine be that way! I'm not going to your party then!!!" she said turning around ready to stomp away.

_'Party?'_

Did she mean party? Like with music, food, and people wearing those ridiculous looking hats on their heads? Since when did Cloud plan parties? And when did he ever wear any kind of party hat? Never. Not that he could recall. He wasn't the type to plan one of those things…especially when he tried so hard to avoid so many people. Plus the party hats would mess up his hair…

"You must be talking about someone else…I'm not planning any kind of…party…" he said as if the word 'party' foreign to him.

She blinked at him with a look that said that she obviously didn't believe him. "Surrrrre. Well if you're not having a party then you better tell Aeris because she's decorating the whole place with streamers and glitter," she said twirling around Cloud in a semi-circle. Occasionally she would stop her little dance to glance at his expression.

This caused Cloud to break his eye contact with the ground and focus in at the twirling Yuffie. "Yuffie," he called out to the dancing girl.

"Hn?" she said mocking him as she continued to wind around with her arms outstretched.

"Yuffie! Will you-" He waited until she was in front of him to reach out for her.

His hands reached for her shoulders planting her in front of him so that he could finally look at her. The sudden cease of movement caused her to stumble slightly but he had caught her before she had the chance to fall. He didn't want a repeat of him carrying her to Merlin's. For the second time he was into close proximity to her…although this time he didn't mind as much. There was information that he wanted to hear after all.

Yuffie on the other hand didn't mind…much, although her body went ridged from the sudden contact and being pulled in so close. Usually with someone's face being so close someone might be intimidated although…she wasn't. It didn't seem that Cloud would do any harm to her after all he did save her a while back. Even if he didn't rescue her she felt oddly…safe around him even though she knew he could slice her into two in a second if he wanted to.

"Yeah?" she asked raising her eyebrows wondering what was going on.

"Are you sure?" he asked seriously.

"Abooout…?"

"The party?"

"Your party?"

"Un – No. Aeris and the streamers?" he asked getting obviously frustrated with this questionnaire dance they were doing.

"Yeah she had streamers. Oh and glitter."

"No – I mean is she really planning a party?"

"Oh! Um yeah! She's real excited about it. Decorating the whole place and everything! She has a little sign that says 'Welcome back!' And when I asked she just nodded and in her ungodly perfect way smiled saying 'Yeah it's Cloud's party!'...and there's going to be food and…"

She looked at Cloud just about as she was going to go through with her rant…but she stopped when she saw the look on his face. It looked as if he was angry? Scared? Surprised?

_'Oh no'_

"Ooooewwww…." She slowly said as realization hit her. There was a party. Aeris was decorating. And Cloud had no idea about this-what-so-ever. His hands dropped from her shoulders and returned to crossing over his chest. "So…this must mean you didn't know huh?" she asked giving a childlike smile.

Leaning against the wall once more he gave Yuffie a small shake of the head. He was apparently deep in his thoughts. Thoughts of not wanting to go to this party.

"So this must mean…Aeris…was planning a surprise party huh?"

Again he didn't speak but just nodded at her question. It seemed that all she was doing was thinking out loud and asking questions to which she already knew the answers to. Cloud was just there for her visible confirmation.

"Oh GAWD! Aeris is gonna kill me! Why does everyone keep me out of the loop? How was I suppose to know when she said it was your party that she meant a _surprise_ party? Oh this is totally not my fault! If it's anyone's fault it's yours!" she said shoving a finger into his chest.

"My fault?!" he unwinding his arms and let them drop to his side surprised that she was actually blaming him. Back then he knew that Yuffie always seemed to find a way out of trouble and find a way to justify any situation so she would end up 'right'. Also the word 'no' wasn't in her vocabulary. Back then Yuffie was a princess you couldn't help but adore…and it seemed that some things never changed.

"Yes you're fault!" she repeated placing her hands on her hips and looking up at him rebelliously.

He looked at her in disbelief. Letting out an annoyed groan he closed his eyes shut tightly for a moment. Opening them once more he found that Yuffie was still looking closely at his face…and wasn't saying anything.

"…What?"

"So you're not gonna tell Aeris I told you right?" she asked folding her hands in front of her as if she was begging.

"I---"

"Cloudy! Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaase!" she yelled and flung her arms around his waist begging him to keep his mouth shut. Her face buried into his chest as she hugged on to him tightly without any intention to let go until he agreed to her terms.

He tried to shy away from her as he felt her arms coil around her. His arms extended out from his sides as if he was afraid to touch her. "Yuf-"

"ClOUDY!!!!" she cried once more. "Aeris is gonna kill me! She's gonna-"

"YUFFIE!" He finally brought his arms around her trying to pry her off him gently although it wasn't working. The ninja had a vice grip on him. Letting out a sigh he let his arms lay around her. "I'm not going to tell her," he finally said.

Her face looked up although her arms were still around his waist. He looked at her hopefully wondering if his answer would finally get her off him. "Really?"

He answered with a curt nod waiting for her to let go… … … anytime now… … …

Although she never did. "THANK YOU!!!" Instead Yuffie's feminine voice filled his ears causing him to wince slightly.

'Hnnuh!' He exhaled sharply as he felt an unexpected tight squeeze around his waist caused by Yuffie's arms. For a small girl she really had strong arms. "Yuf-fie. You're – welcome," he struggled to get out.

After another tight squeeze she released Cloud and took a step back. She was smiling…again. "I'm gonna go help Aeris kay? She said it was going to be tonight so I'm sure she's going to need some help. Make sure you act surprised alright?" she asked waving a goodbye and not waiting for a response. "See you there Cloudy!" With that she sped off towards Merlin's house where the surprise party would be held.

Watching her retreating form he closed his eyes and made an annoyed sound. He did-not-want-to-go to this surprise party. He already knew that it was going to be a complete disaster. Although...Yuffie would be there. Wait...what was he thinking? He couldn't stand her...couldn't he? It couldn't be that bad. He wasn't looking forward to anyone's specific company...although Yuffie was oddly someone that he could tolerate. He shook his head trying to rid him off these thoughts. Maybe the party wouldn't be that bad...or so he hoped. It would be bitter sweet. Like Sweet & Salty.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts**

**So Yeah...this chapter was kind of pointless. I apologize for that -- but I didn't want Yuffie and Cloud to fall in love -oh- so quickly. So I just thought I would put in another chapter where they were just simply 'friends'. The next chapter should be better! Or I hope! It's party time for Yuffie and Cloud yay!**


	6. Chapter 6

R E T U R N I N G H O M E

Cloud Strife

Past

&

Yuffie Kisaragi

Present

* * *

This was absolutely ridiculous.

Cloud shifted his weight uncomfortably as if he wasn't sure what to do with himself. His once proud demeanor was now replaced with a perplexed aura. It didn't take anyone a second glance to realize that the silent warrior was out of his element. Without his broad sword strapped to his back he seemed to be on edge and vulnerable. However he still sulked in one of the many corners that he managed to find, with his arms crossed, and his eyes looking downward. Not many people seemed to notice. It almost made him believe that his arrival was a poor excuse to throw a party. He absolutely REFUSED to look anyone in the eye. What would make Cloud Strife act like this?

None other than his surprise party of course!

He cursed under his breath and wondered why all these people would gather to celebrate his seemingly long awaited arrival. Everyone had given him enough exasperated looks, gasps, and variety of welcome backs to last him a life time. He wondered what they had thought when they planned to throw him the party. Cloud plus party were two things that didn't seem to mix. When people came up to him he had his arms laid at his sides since he had no idea where else he was suppose to put them. He began to fumble a few words of gratitude to all the people who were trying to greet him. He seemed like a lost boy searching for something. Then finally…

"Hey Cloud."

Mako eyes didn't even need to shift their gaze for Cloud to realize who it was. That voice was unmistakable. It was dripping with silken innocence. Too much for the possessors own good. Her naivety and weakness for helping others could get her in trouble one day. It was a good thing for her that she was surrounded with people that loved her too much to let anything short of a paper cut happen to her.

"Hey." His reply was his solemn and he hesitated for a moment. She waited patiently with her hands folded behind her back blinking her emerald colored eyes. "Aeris…" he finished letting her name fall of his lips.

This seemed to please her even though his eyes continued to stare at the floor, the walls, and anything else but her. She saw that he was nervous and a giggle danced around her belly. Tilting her head slightly she looked up at him. There wasn't much that changed about the blonde in terms of physical appearance. There was no doubt that he had become much more muscular and masculine but looking at him with his eyes down casted she still saw a little bit of that boy she grew up with. The one that still made her heart ache from time to time…

Her perfectly sculpted pink lips creased forming the smallest of smiles…the ones that showed a world of emotion. "Are you enjoying your party Cloud?" she asked repeating his name. It was almost as if she wanted to say it over and over again. It had been a long time since she was able to say his name without speaking of him in the past tense of in hope.

Hope Cloud will come home soon….

Hope Cloud is alright…



Finally he looked at her with a slightly quirked eyebrow. First it was out of shock of her question then out of her appearance. Of course she had mature but for the most part she looked the same. Beautiful. The same brown locks tied casually into a pink bow. Her attire consisted of a white strapless summer dress trimmed in pink. Same green eyes. Same smile. Same girl he fell was in love with.

But…that was a long time ago…

Right?

He was about to reply with a sarcastic question. Somewhere along the lines of 'My party? Really? I didn't even notice.' Of course he didn't even need to take second glance at her to know that he would regret saying something that would remotely hurt her feelings. After all she did plan this whole party for him. Not exactly what he expected…

"Yeah. It's great. Thanks."

She smiled at his words even though he spoke them so flatly. Maybe it was his genuine thanks that covered up his fib or the fact that even if he was being truthful it was hard to read him.

"Oh! I'm so glad!" she exclaimed clapping her hands together. Her arms then fell to the sides of her pink dress that framed her body so perfectly. "You were gone a long time. You didn't even say goodbye before you left."

"…" For what semed like the millionth time that day he shifted uneasily. He had an idea of where this was going.

"You know Cloud…we're all really happy that you're back…I'm really glad…that you're back…"

Cloud blinked taken aback by her words although the batting of his eyelashes was the last display of emotion at her statement. Yes, her words did make him uncomfortable. She was making it sound that he was here to stay…which he wasn't. He was pretty sure about that. He wasn't even sure why he came back in the first place or rather yet decided to stay for the extended of period of time he was staying. This was supposed to be a quick run through; a pit stop just before he returned to the coliseum.

"Don't get too comfortable," he said chucking the words back at her. Sure they would probably hurt her but leading her to believe that he was here for a permanent stay would hurt her even more.

His words like he expected shocked her. Her perfectly round eyes went into a mix of confusion and panic as they searched his for an answer. "What do you mean?" she asked fearful of the answer she knew was coming.

"Aeris. You and I both know that I wasn't planning on staying very long."

With his last words he turned around not wanting to see the expression on her face. If he did he would see her bruised expression. Instead her deep green eyes followed him through the crowd of people until she couldn't see him anymore. As she watched him leave she didn't even bother to remember which direction he was going. She knew that he didn't want to be followed or bothered. And if he didn't want to be found…he made sure he wasn't found.



* * *

A pair of almond brown eyes followed a head of blonde hair like a hawk. The owner of the blonde tresses seemed to be making a beeline towards the door. Yuffie pressed her index finger to her bottom lip as if in deep thought. "Hmm…now where would Cloudy be going…?" she asked herself slightly swaying her hips side to side as if an excited puppy just about to start a chase.

Without a second thought she wove past the mass of people who were too immersed in their conversation to realize that their star of the hour…had ditched the party. Her small frame had been an advantage to making her way towards the door. It was almost suffocating her being around all those people and she was beginning to for welcome the breeze of fresh air. As she almost stumbled out the door into the night air she hopped to her feet just in time to see the silent warrior turn a corner.

"Gotcha!" she whispered quietly to herself as she kicked off her heel to start her chase.

Little did she know that another pair of brown eyes watched her sternly as she left the party. Yuffie always had a knack of getting in trouble…and usually Squall Leonheart would brush it off but this was different. He had this nagging feeling pressing at his instincts but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"Squall?"

The commander turned and tilted his head down to look at a pair of green eyes. Of course it was none other than Aeris giving him a questioning look of concern. "Yes?"

"Is everything alright?"

"I…" He paused for a moment before looking at the same door that Yuffie had passed just a few seconds earlier. "I don't know…"

* * *

After using her super ninja tracking skills she had finally managed to follow her target all the way to the construction area. No one usually came here due to the chance of hazardous sharp things falling on your head. Although hazardous sharp things didn't seem to faze the make eyed male as he casually strolled through the area. And because of her awesome ninja skills she still stayed completely hidden from her prey. Cloud Strife had absolutely no idea that he was being followed by the great Yuffie Kisaragi! She gave herself a mental pat on the back as she proceeded to the next ledge. Her presence was completely hidden up until…

"Why are you following me?" The warrior stopped and turned unexpectedly looking up at Yuffie who seemed frozen in the shadows unwilling to give away her position. Letting out a sigh he quirked an eyebrow knowing that the girl was hiding in the crevice. "Yuffie!"

"Awww c'mon!" she pouted jumping out of her hiding space and in front of him. "You totally didn't know I was following you until now didn't cha?"

She looked up at him proudly with her hands on her hips and her upper body slightly forward as she looked up at him. Until now? He had known that someone was following him as soon as he got out of the door. It wasn't until a few moments earlier that he concluded that it was Yuffie. It looked like she needed to work on her so called 'awesome ninja skills'.



"Um…sure…" he wasn't sure why he lied but the lie seemed to light up her face as she began to twirl around with her arms up in the air.

"Ha! So you admitted it! You were tracked by the one and only Great Ninja Yuffie Kisaragi! Although you shouldn't be so hard on yourself…I mean I am a ninja—wait – THE best ninja ever and you're just…Well you know you could always take lessons from me if you want," she bragged twirling in a circle around him.

Oh joy…if he knew that she was gonna act like an egotistical brat he would have just told the truth. He waited until she was in front of him to do something much unexpected and out of character even for himself. In mid-twirl her back was facing him when he grabbed her upper arms and jerked her towards him so that her back was pressed against his chest.

The sudden contact had caused Yuffie's body to tense. She squirmed at his grip on her arms but he kept a tight hold on her. If he was paying closer attention maybe he would've noticed that girl's nervousness of the close contact. And Cloud almost…ALMOST smiled. Or…maybe he smiled just a little bit amused at her reaction.

Lowing his head his cheek brushed her hair as he whispered softly in her ear. "You are the biggest spoiled clumsy ninja princess brat." He scoffed softly…as if he was enjoying toying with her?

"Hey! Listen here your spikey headed jerk!" She began to kick her legs outward and tried to wriggle free from the SOILDER'S grasp. Her attempts to escape had just caused him to wrap his arms around her waist holding her tighter to his chest. "C'mon why don't you let me go and fight me face to face! I'll show you how good my ninja skills are!" she began screaming and turned her head to the side in attempt to bite his arm to escape.

"**Your** ninja skills? If I remember correctly it was **me** who taught you how to aim," he said still keeping her as her captive.

"Grrrrarg!" She narrowed her eyes as she continued to kick and scream. It seemed that everyone remembered Cloud but her. It was almost as if she couldn't remember that piece of her childhood as clearly as everyone else. Of course she remembered Squall and Aeris…but she could never recall Cloud. So why did he claim to know things about her? "Let me go!! LEMME GO! Lemme go or you'll be sorry! Once I get outta here I'm gonna kick your ass!"

As if she had just said the magic words Cloud had released his hold on the girl and gave her back a slight push forward. He raised an eyebrow at the girl who was trying to regain her balance from that small shove. "I'd like to see you try," he said in his usual monotone voice…except there was something different about the way he talked now. As if there was a hidden emotion beneath his exterior.

She growled under her breath once more glaring at Cloud. Who did he think he was? Without anymore warning she charged at the blond tackling him. She landed forwards – he landed backwards – with her on top. Despite their awkward position she began trying to pound down on him but he had grabbed both her wrists preventing her from hitting him. She tried jerking her arms left and right but he had a firm hold on her…again. Although she was trying to beat the hell out of him he made no move to attack her. Instead 

he tried to dodge all her insane attacks. When she failed to free her arms she tried to kick him with her legs.

The corner of his lips curved up in to a lopsided smile. He was almost playful. Was Cloud actually enjoying himself? No it couldn't be… It just wasn't likely.

"Yuffie get off me!" he said in his same deep voice but it wasn't as calm and monotonous as it was before.

"GrrrNO! Not until you take back what you said and say that I am the best ninja ever to walk the streets of Hallow Bastion!" she yelled at him. She stopped moving for a moment as if to give him a chance to surrender. Waiting for an answer she looked down at his deep mako eyes. She furrowed her brow as stared at him. Something about his eyes seemed familiar to her….

After a moment Cloud blinked at her.

"Well?" she asked him.

"You're delusional," he replied in all seriousness. Giving her no opportunity to start her 'attack' again he pushed her off to the side and started to stand himself up and walk away

"Hee-ey! I'm not finished with you yet! You can't just walk away from me!" As soon as she got to her feet she was beginning to prepare another attack when she was suddenly jerked back. She felt someone grab her by her right upper arm and preventing her from attacking the silent warrior. "Hey! What gives!? That's cheating!" She tried to surge forward but kept on being held back. What was this? Hold back Yuffie day?

"Hey let me go!" She turned around ready to deck the person behind but when she saw who it was all she did was look up at the person with her mouth open. Her open mouth slowly curved into a sheepish smile.

"Yuffie. What **are** you doing to Cloud?" the male questioned her looking down at the younger female.

"Me? What am I doing?? It was his fault! He started it with his all 'Hey I'm Cloud I'm cool and better than you' attitude. If anyone is to blame it's HIM!" she yelled forcefully while pointing a finger at Cloud.

Cloud stood silently still as Yuffie accused him of starting their diabolical feud. Any playful smile that tugged at his lips before was gone and he was back to the Cloud that everyone else knew.

"Hey Squall. Or is it Leon now?" Cloud asked crossing his arms looking at the commander. After Cloud left everyone turned to Squall for support. Aeris was heartbroken and Yuffie began to hang out with him more. But now that Cloud was back…

"It's Leon," he managed to say while trying to hold back a struggling ninja. "Aeris sent me to look for you. She's – Yuffie will you quit it or Aeris is gonna hear about you ditching the party."

The young princess glared up at the commander once more before crossing her arms and standing idly. She did NOT want to hear Aeris question her about where she was and why she left the party. "Fine…but you owe me ice-cream after this!"



Squall shook his head very slightly. How did this end up him being the bad guy and him owing Yuffie ice-cream? "Whatever. Just get back to the party," he said letting go of her arm and giving her a gently push in the right direction. "I'll meet you back there," Squall said waving his hand at her.

"Fine I'll go back to the party…" Yuffie said sullenly before using Leon's push to walk forward. "But remember ice-cream! Tomorrow!" She waved her arm up in the air before turning around to walk back to the party. "Oh and do me a favor Squally! Take care of this Cloudy guy!" With that Yuffie turned the corner and was out of sight.

This only left Cloud and Leon.

Cloud had his arms still crossed as Leon looked at him judgmentally. "What?" he asked cooly.

With Yuffie gone Leon's calm act disappeared. He took a step towards the SOILDER and grabbed him by the collar. Cloud's cold green eyes just stared blankly at Leon's dark grey eyes. The blonde seemed unfazed .

"You and I both know that you're not staying here for long so why don't you do everyone a favor and just leave as soon as possible. Why are you even sticking around Cloud? Aeris was heartbroken when you left and Yuffie doesn't even remember you so why do you even bother? What did you think that you could just come back here and everything would be the same? Yuffie cried for weeks after you left and all Aeris talked about was when you would come back. Don't do it to them again Cloud," he said hotly before releasing his collar.

After Cloud was released he uncrossed his arms and turned his back towards the brunette. Had he really caused them so much pain when he left? What did they exactly expect with his return? Maybe Leon was right. He began to walk away just before he turned his head to the side to say "You're right about one thing. I won't be staying for long."

With that the blonde turned his head back around and began to walk away as Leon watched him leave. Maybe coming back was a mistake…

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts**


	7. Chapter 7

R E T U R N I N G H O M E

Squall Leonhart

&

Yuffie Kisaragi

* * *

_Note: This whole chapter is set in the past/flashback_

The four Radiant Garden natives were at a stone stairwell in district one. They had arrived at this new world not too long ago with Cid, who had ordered them to stay put until explored this new world…Traverse Town as the people here called it. The older man left with a few other survivors that Squall didn't recognize. There were only a handful of them that Cid managed to scoop up in his gummi ship and fly off to safety with. Cloud, Aeris, Yuffie, and he were the few lucky ones.

"What…what were those things?" Aeris asked.

At first Squall believed that she was asking a general question until he realized she was staring straight at him. He shifted his weight uncomfortably until he realized that she wasn't just asking anyone…she was asking him. She was scared…and she did little to hide it. Her emerald in her eyes seemed shattered and her folded hands hovered shakily over her chest.

What _is_ going to happen now? Why was she asking him? He didn't know any more than she did. He didn't know what was happening when Radiant Garden was over taken by shadows…those things that clawed their way through front door and walls…and people. He still felt the heat of the battle on the nape of his neck. The sound of chaos was still ringing in his ears. The blood from his newfound scar on his brow was still warm and drying on his lips

He glanced over to the others who looked as bad as he was. Cloud had suffered multiple wounds that were now bandaged with what little material they could find. The flower girls dress was tattered and torn at the hem, covered with blood and dirt. The ninja's bandana hung loosely around her neck. New cuts and bruises piled atop her old ones from previous rough housing. Yuffie was never a girly girl…

Every time he looked at them he felt a heavy weight in his chest. It was the same feeling he felt whenever he lost in a fight. It was the same feeling he felt when he told Yuffie to go away. It was the same feeling he felt when he told Aeris he didn't like the lemonade she made…

Guilt.

He looked at the flower girl who was about to cry. He felt an invisible string wrapped around his heart that began to tug. Then he looked at the little ninja. She was only five…at the time. He was only ten. And none of them could make sense of what was happening.

"I…I don't know…" was the lame answer he gave her. It was honest but not what she wanted to hear and he knew that. There it was again…

Guilt

He couldn't take it. He needed to do better.

There was a look of disappointment in the flower girl's eyes as she nodded and backed away taking a place next to Cloud.

"I'm sorry…" he added maybe a little too late.

"It's okay…" she said offering one of her famous Aeris smiles. It was the same one that was so sincere and hid no malice behind it. Except that same smile was broken and would take a long time before it could heal.

"Do you think the monsters are here too?" Yuffie asked eyeing each shadowed corner cautiously.

"Probably not…and if they are you don't have to worry," Cloud replied. His small hand gripped the hilt of his sword that was too big for his child sized frame and his mako eyes burned with determination way beyond his years.

Aeris glanced at Cloud and looked at him with an understanding sadness. "Cloud…"

"But…what if they are?" the young girl insisted breaking any uncomfortable silence.

"If there were we probably would've seen them by now…" he encouraged, settling her fears.

The young girl just replied with a soft 'oh' as if it all made sense to her now.

Across the way Cloud gave Squall a curt nod and just like that they shared a silent agreement. They would protect them. They would do better next time. Next time they would be prepared. Both of them weren't going to let this happen again.

With that thought in mind Squall glanced at the weapon in his hand; the same one which tip barely dragged along the floor as he walked. Its silver color gleamed in the twilight light as the griever keychain hung from the hilt. Like Cloud, both of them seemed too small to wield such a powerful weapon: Cloud with his buster sword and Squall with his gunblade. However both of them held on to their swords with such bravery that a ten year old shouldn't know.

"Squall. Squall. Squall," Yuffie beckoned to him until she received his attention again. She had one arm wrapped around his leg while the other pulled on his hand.

The SeeD cadet raised a hand to his forehead. He let out a soft sigh and finally gave in to the ninja's demands. "Yes?" he asked. His eyes gave her a questioning look that gave her a queue to speak.

It was probably something trivial. It was probably something only a five year old would ask, like when will we be able to go back home. Or I'm hungry. Or I have to go to the bathroom…or something along those minor lines. Except…nothing could have prepared him for what she was going to ask next.

"What ship are Mommy and Daddy on?"

It was something only a five year old would ask.

He looked at Aeris and Cloud for help but all he received were blank, broken, and sorrowful stares. Yuffie tugged on his arm again looking up at him with a look that broke his heart.

"Oh Yuffie…" he heard Aeris begin but Squall abruptly stopped her.

The young ninja was looking at him and only him. She was asking him and no one else. Squall frowned he pried her small arms off his leg and knelt down to her eye level. Holding her hands he looked at her questioning eyes. He took a moment to think of the words to say…what does a ten year old say to a five year old asking when they'd see their parents again?

"Yuffie…"

"When are the other ships coming?" Yuffie interrupted.

Squall inwardly winced as her words cut into him but Yuffie's inquisitive eyes urged him to push on. "Your Mom and Dad aren't coming…here…"

"What do you mean? Where are they going? What ship are they on?"

"…" For a moment Squall knelt there silently as Yuffie stared at him with a blank expression.

"They're on a ship…that's going somewhere different. It's a special ship and they're going somewhere we can't go."

Yuffie's gaze wavered as she looked down at the grown…the stairs…the stars…anything but his grey eyes. "Mommy and Daddy aren't coming here…" she repeated almost asking one more time.

Squall solemnly shook his head.

The brunette male nodded as he the young girl trying to make sense of the situation. "Oh…"

After a silent moment the young girl stared straight into the older boy's blue eyes. Her sudden actions almost caught the boy off guard. "Are you going to have to go away too?"

It was a serious question that deserved a serious answer.

Again Squall shook his head and did something very out of character for the young boy. He pulled the little ninja into a tight embrace and shook his head.

"No I'm going to stay with you…"

* * *

The older man mumbled something incoherent possibly even to himself. It had been several hours since they landed in this…Traverse Town as the people called it. Cid, the pilot had rounded up all the survivors he could find and led them to this world. He still wasn't sure if he did the right thing. Letting out a large sigh he walked the halls of the single hotel in district two. Or was it three? He couldn't remember. Not that it mattered all that much to him.

All of the people who escaped Radiant garden were spread out to different rooms. However there were four of them…he kept a very watchful eye on. He made his way over to the red room where two of the youngest survivors were kept. Originally he had planned for the boys to stay in one room and the girls to stay in another while he had a room across the hall.

Now Cid wasn't very good with kids but he decided to check on them before he retreated to his own room. Going to the boy's room first he quietly turned the knob afraid of waking the inhabitants inside. They had been through enough and the last thing they needed was to be startled in their sleep.

The pilot opened the door just so that enough light shine through. His eyes squinted to adjust to the darkness trying to make sense of what he saw. He expected to see two boys: Squall and Cloud sleeping soundly in their separate beds. Except that wasn't the case. Instead he saw four small bodies sleeping vertically on two beds pushed together.

It took him a while to recognize all their sleeping faces but he could have guessed who the two girls in the middle were. The sight almost…just maybe brought the smallest of smiles on the pilot's face.

There, on the two beds pushed together were Cloud, Aeris, Yuffie and Squall. The two boys were sleeping on the ends while the girls slept in the middle. The blonde had his arm casually draped over the flower girl. And while the little ninja hugged onto Squall's arm like a teddy bear the young boy seemed to be hogging all the blankets.

From the hallway he heard them all breathing steadily in their deep slumbers. He let out a deep sigh cursing whoever it was that bestowed such a tragedy on these children. They all slept there soundly and serene if only for one night. Cid shook his head and smiled while quietly closing the door.

Scratching the back of his head he began to walk towards his room. And he realized that they would be okay because they were together.

"Brats…" he said laughing softly to himself.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts**

**Yay. So I finally updated! Since the last two chapters were Clouffie I decided to make this chapter a Squffie. Kind of a slow chapter...but I hope you guys still like it!  
**


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